Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #263

I found this little bloom of the Scarlet Gaura (Gaura coccinea) growing in my yard. It is very prolific in the high desert and I step over and around them all of the time. I had never taken the time to actually realize their beauty. I thought it was just wind-blown and had lost some of its petals, but God made them with just four. It has 8 stamen topped with yellow anthers and a pink stigma with four yellow lobes for pollination. This flower starts out white and then changes to a pink, red or maroon. All this and it also has a great fragrance. A whole lot packed into a 1/2 inch flower. Go figure†

The Lakota Sioux rubbed this plant on their hands to make them sticky to aid in catching horses, and the Navajo used a cold tea made from scarlet gaura to settle children’s upset stomachs.